{"title":"Delayed notes: Responding to two unsettling street encounters in Santiago","authors":"Soledad Martínez","doi":"10.1111/area.12932","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>A common fieldwork recommendation is to keep a notebook and to write descriptions and reflections in it as soon as possible after each spell of participant observation. The idea is that we should record the details of the situations we encounter while they are still fresh in our memory. But sometimes, when faced with challenging situations, this may not be the best time to write. In this short article, I reflect on the timing of notetaking and how the more reflective purpose of fieldnotes may require more flexibility about how and when to take notes. Drawing on my PhD focused on pedestrian mobilities in Santiago, Chile, and with reference to two unsettling fieldwork experiences, I examine the merits of delayed and experimental notetaking in pursuit of both personal wellbeing and more insightful entries.</p>","PeriodicalId":8422,"journal":{"name":"Area","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Area","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/area.12932","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"GEOGRAPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
A common fieldwork recommendation is to keep a notebook and to write descriptions and reflections in it as soon as possible after each spell of participant observation. The idea is that we should record the details of the situations we encounter while they are still fresh in our memory. But sometimes, when faced with challenging situations, this may not be the best time to write. In this short article, I reflect on the timing of notetaking and how the more reflective purpose of fieldnotes may require more flexibility about how and when to take notes. Drawing on my PhD focused on pedestrian mobilities in Santiago, Chile, and with reference to two unsettling fieldwork experiences, I examine the merits of delayed and experimental notetaking in pursuit of both personal wellbeing and more insightful entries.
期刊介绍:
Area publishes ground breaking geographical research and scholarship across the field of geography. Whatever your interests, reading Area is essential to keep up with the latest thinking in geography. At the cutting edge of the discipline, the journal: • is the debating forum for the latest geographical research and ideas • is an outlet for fresh ideas, from both established and new scholars • is accessible to new researchers, including postgraduate students and academics at an early stage in their careers • contains commentaries and debates that focus on topical issues, new research results, methodological theory and practice and academic discussion and debate • provides rapid publication